Cleveland Cavaliers: 2020 NBA Draft prospect Isaac Okoro would be able to get to FT line often for Cavs

Isaac Okoro should be firmly in the cards for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2020 NBA Draft.

At this point, as KJG’s Grant Puskar seemingly emphasized, Isaac Okoro would be a rock solid selection that shouldn’t cause complaints among Cleveland Cavaliers fans. Our own Billy Beebe expressed how Okoro would project as a quality young piece to have for coming years, too.

Both were hitting on if the Auburn wing were to be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2020 NBA Draft come mid-October, of course. I personally agree with both as well, and whether or not Okoro can develop a consistent three-point shot, feasibly off-the-catch, his defensive capability would more than warrant a Cleveland selection in the upcoming draft.

Okoro did not have knock-your-socks-off numbers at Auburn in his lone collegiate season as a Tiger in 2019-20 with 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, no. But the 6-foot-6, 225-pound youngster could fit in well and in my opinion, with his versatility defensively and his athleticism, could fairly early on next season eventually be an upgrade as a starting 3 for Cedi Osman for the Cavs.

Osman has struggled mightily against starting-caliber wings in two seasons as Cleveland’s starting 3, and while Osman did hit 38.3 percent of his three-point attempts in 2019-20, he leaves plenty to be desired on-ball. Osman is a good cutter, and at least quality passing instincts, but he simply disappears at times on the offensive end in settled offense, and that’s something that you want out there going forward.

To me, Okoro, who while the numbers didn’t indicate necessarily, is a capable passer, too, and would provide far more ability as a driving presence, coupled with the defensive on-ball element, again. Okoro could add some pick-and-roll playmaking potential for Cleveland, too.

Anyway, it’s clear that Okoro would be able to get to the free throw line often for the Cleveland Cavaliers if they were to draft him.

From my perspective, considering Okoro could be an eventual starter at the 3 after some time into the season for the Cavs, his driving ability would pay off.

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Could Darius Garland, who even though he was seemingly a bit timid as a scorer in relation to his meniscus injury dating back to college, be moved to a bench role and Cleveland proceed with a Collin Sexton-Kevin Porter Jr. starting backcourt?

Sure, but I’d expect Porter to end up playing over half of games, anyhow, and either way, Okoro could mesh well with each of those pieces I believe, and aid Cleveland thanks to him being an active driver and polished finisher.

Moreover, a key element where Okoro could help the Cavaliers, along with most notably his defensive play both on and off-ball, would be by getting to the free throw often.

That’s not something I believe we’ll see a ton from Osman in coming years, who will likely be mostly a spot-up player.

Similarly to Kevin Porter Jr., who should have the free throws pile up for him as Cleveland’s best driving threat I believe heading into 2020-21 with his ability to change speeds, Okoro would be able to get there a bunch if the Cavs drafted him, too, I imagine.

At Auburn, Okoro had a healthy 4.8 free throws per game and had an especially high free throw rate at 55.1 percent, per Sports Reference.

While Okoro again has a ways to go as a shooter, and only hit 28.6 percent of his three-point attempts and was not much of a shooter off-the-bounce, he has enough quickness to get to the paint off-the-bounce consistently, and his finishing should translate.

His sturdy frame and above-the-rim prowess won’t hurt, either. Also, plenty of instances with shooters such as Kevin Love, Collin Sexton and hopefully Dylan Windler, if mostly healthy, who could perhaps be a starting 3 option for Cleveland down the road himself but could play at the 2 a bunch, would aid Okoro in getting to the rack.

Ultimately, Okoro I’d imagine would be able to manufacture production throughout games by getting to the free throw often with him not settling. Plus, he could feasibly hit dump-offs to Andre Drummond and Larry Nance Jr., or spray-outs to Windler and Sexton/Garland as a counter to defenses loading up more to his interior attempts.

So to reiterate, a key selling point to me for Okoro, coupled with his defense (he had 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game and showed impressive versatility) for the Cavs, would be that he’d be able to get to the free throw often if they selected him in the 2020 NBA Draft.

That sort of thing would help the Cavaliers generate production, realistically mid-to-late clock if needed, and it could help Okoro get more into a rhythm as a shooter over time. Albeit it’d pay off for Okoro to hit more than 67.2 percent of his free throw attempts, which was his clip on those at Auburn, but I believe he very well could.

Anyway, in some instances even at times alongside Osman, having another constant hard-driving piece in Okoro, who could be an occasional roller a bit, too, could help bring an added element to Cleveland’s offense and help generate more free throw trips.

Cleveland had the second-fewest attempts per game in the NBA in 2019-20, to contextualize, and while Drummond should help there and did some after he was acquired via trade from the Detroit Pistons, he is a horrendous free throw shooter.

Whether or not Okoro were to eventually start next season, his ability to get to the charity stripe shouldn’t be discounted and again, with his defensive ability, I’d imagine he could start fairly early on for the Cavs.

Granted, I could see Florida State’s Devin Vassell as a similar player potentially in that regard, too, for instance. Or perhaps a 3/4 in Florida State’s Patrick Williams could be a really nice player to add for coming years, but Okoro might have a higher defensive ceiling than both.

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We’ll see if Okoro’s eventually available at Cleveland’s selection in the 2020 NBA Draft.